Independent Candidate Takes on Water Issues in Texas Hill Country

SPICEWOOD — At the Pedernales Farmers Market, nestled between a coffee stand and a vendor selling jars of habanero dill okra, Kodi Sawin promotes her unconventional campaign for state representative. Her focus: a staunchly nonpartisan campaign to reboot political discourse.

“Would you like to hear about my independent run for state representative?” Sawin asked passersby on a warm September Sunday. “My top issues are water, wastewater, and land use.”

Instead of hot-button issues like taxes, guns, borders, and abortion, Sawin wants to address pressing concerns such as water scarcity and land development. “One thing we all love is the water and the land. It’s why we live here,” she told Briarcliff resident Hunter Hale.

'We've lost the art of communication'

Texas House District 19 includes western Travis County and all of Burnet, Blanco, Kendall, and Gillespie counties. Despite Republican Rep. Ellen Troxclair's strong support, Sawin is determined to run. “My win is something different,” she said. “Winning, to me, is giving us all hope that there is a way to change how we communicate about politics.”

Raised in Canyon, Texas, and now living in Lakeway, Sawin believes Texans have more in common than partisan fights suggest. “We’ve lost the art of communication, of hearing and understanding where other people stand,” Sawin said.

The national Hidden Tribes survey found that two-thirds of Americans belong to an "Exhausted Majority" fed up with polarization. Redistricting after the 2020 census pushed Sawin's neighborhood from a somewhat purple district to a heavily Republican one.

“A 70/30 district is unacceptable,” Sawin said. “We stop communicating. When one side is going to win, it’s game over.” She's heard similar sentiments from voters while gathering signatures.

Curbing polarization by thinking local

Republican Rep. Ellen Troxclair’s campaign website highlights her work on GOP priorities, while Democratic challenger Dwain Handley’s campaign website focuses on issues like gun violence and immigration.

Sawin believes decreasing polarization starts with local issues. “In the Hill Country, that’s water and land. Liberals care. So do folks still plugged into the tea party movement,” she said.

At the farmers market, Sawin received support from both sides of the political spectrum. Jim Mosley, a Cottonwood Shores resident, said, “There’s developments going in up the road. They didn’t have any idea that people over here are struggling to have the basic amount of water to use.”

Working against the trends

Sawin argues the Legislature should empower local governments to manage developments. However, recent laws like House Bill 3697 and Senate Bill 2038 have made it easier for developers to bypass local regulations.

“We’re losing the Hill Country. We’re losing what we love,” Sawin said. “It doesn’t mean, 'Don’t grow.' But we’ve got to empower the local communities to be able to manage what is upsetting the balance of our values and our history.”

Reshaping partisan landscape will take time, but Sawin hopes her campaign can foster new conversations. “I’ve watched this troubling divide that we have," she said. "We can’t continue on like this."